Elijah Risley Sr., born in 1757 in Hockanum, now East Hartford, Connecticut, served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1779. He married Phebe Bills and moved westward until arriving in Fredonia in April of 1807. The Risleys had 12 children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Elijah built a cabin near the top of West Main hill and later bought land farther down what is today Chestnut Street. He built the first bridge across Canadaway Creek at the foot of the hill below his home and was involved in several businesses, including two mills he built on Canadaway Creek at the bottom of West Main hill. When General Lafayette visited Fredonia in 1825, he recognized the veterans of the Revolutionary War there, including Elijah Risley in the crowd.